On Friday 21 November last year on site filming took place for a documentary on the history of the Kelly Gang at the site of the 1880 seige in Glenrowan, Victoria, Australia. The documentary, produced by Renegade Films, had been two years in the planning, and an initial excavation commenced in April. This final excavation was conducted by archaeologist Adam Ford of DIG International. Funding for the excavation was provided by the City of Wangaratta.

I considered it a privilege to be permitted to attend the site, both at the initial excavation in April and the final one, at which Tony Robinson had been arranged to attend. Tony's role in the documentary was as presenter, similar in style to his role in 'Time Team'.
I watched him during filming where he displayed his talent as a consummate professional who could deliver a message succinctly and with passion. Unfortunately, his work was made all the more difficult as he battled with hay fever, a problem well-known to afflict many here, during the dispersal of our Spring pollens.

Tony took a few minutes out of the tight schedule to speak with me and I found him to be as charming and engaging as his on-screen persona. He said he was amazed with how many people, just passing the site of the excavation (which is normally a tourist attraction, without the archaeology) recognised him and came over to tell him how much they loved Time Team. It is remarkable how its popularity has grown so quickly in this country. I remember reading that Aussie tourists had sometimes approached Tony and the guys while they were filming in the UK. It's interesting that it would also happen here, with our own visitors to the site, randomly passing by.

I asked him whether he had made the connection between his last documentary filmed here, 'Britain's Real Monarch', and the Ned Kelly history. He said with a grin that he had. It was, of course, Jerilderie - a town not that far away where the genuine heir to the British throne, as contended by the program (who, ironically admits to being a republican!) and the location where Ned Kelly had written his famous 1878 letter, in which he criticised the Crown and was seen as a precursor to his plan for secession.

I enjoyed immensely meeting the person whose catalogue of work I admire so much; he was in good form and was a delightful person with whom to talk. I mentioned that he must have been pleased that this visit was a little more relaxed than his last one - to Jerilderie to interview Michael Hastings - which was an overnighter. He said he was and intended a couple of days after shooting to do some sight-seeing. The region, while historically one of the hot-spots of our 1850s gold rush, is now one of Australia's top wine-growing regions. Hopefully along the way he got to enjoy some of our liquid gold. I also recommended to him our Great Ocean Road and he also indicated interest in seeing Tasmania.

The filming schedule was tight and he had to head off after about 10 minutes; he did invite me to stay on for more of a chat but the day and timeline decided otherwise. After all, it was his workplace and that of the film company. His contribution to this production will no doubt be a "Midas Touch" to the examination of the Kelly history, opening up interest in it both here and abroad.

The Secrets of Stonehenge - A Time Team Special: Channel 4: Monday, 1st June, 2009, 9pm

For the past 6 years Stonehenge and the surrounding landscape have been at the heart of the world's biggest archaelogical project.
In this Time Team Special we follow Mike Parker Pearson's ground-breaking work and uncover for the first time the story of the entire iconic landscape - and more importantly unveil the who, what, when, where and why of Stonehenge - a monument to the ancestors.

Henry VIII was the most prolific palace builder in the history of the monarchy but four of his five palaces have disappeared.
Marking the 500th anniversary of Henry's accession, Time Team explores the sites of all 5 of these lost Tudor palaces.

The Radio times says:

"Tony Robinson and his experts set out to uncover relics of Henry VIII. Press notes promise the team will reveal surprises about "Henry the architect, designer, sportsman, devout Churchman and European statesman - far from his bad-tempered, murderous and overweight image." (Notice how that suggests rumours of Henry's murderousness and size are no more than tittle-tattle.) If it sounds less nuanced than the Starkey portrait that follows, it will have the advantage of Robinson's engaging style and some interesting digs, including one at Beaulieu in Essex, the first palace Henry built for himself."

Tony Robinson leads his legendary troop of archaeologists and experts into battle for their 16th series. This first of 13 new episodes - over which the team increase their tally to digging 175 sites across the country - starts the series on a high.

For the last 15 years, finding even one Roman temple has eluded the team. They are rare and they are often small, lost in the shadows of other larger Roman structures. So when the team travel to a field in Hertfordshire, near the old Roman Road of Watling Street, armed with 30-year-old aerial photographs, they are as enthusiastic as ever....

Pages to accompany the new series will appear here in time for each programme.

Click on an image to see this years transmission card more clearly.

A Time Team Special:

The Lost WW1 Bunker: Monday 10th November 2008, Channel 4, 9pm

Deep beneath one of the bloodiest battlefields of the First World War, Tony joins a team of archaeologists as they excavate a lost British bunker - untouched since the last soldier left it 90 years ago.

They hope the bunker will reveal the secrets of a brutal, bloody and forgotten war, fought deep underground by a secretive and heroic cadre of specialist troops.

Click on an image to see a bigger version of the transmission card.

Tony Filming Abroad

Tony went to Australia in November, 2008 to film a programme about Ned Kelly's last stand at the Glenrowan dig which began on the 17th of November.

Click on on image to see a bigger version. Pictures used with the kind permission of Mike Fuery

More pictures and info to follow....

After much negotiation, Time Team finally got the go ahead for a series in America. Six episodes in all which will be shown on PBS in the states and should appear on Channel 4 sometime in 2009.

A new sitcom called Big Top set in a circus starts filming at the end of January, 2009.

Tony plays the part of an embittered accountant and part-time acrobat.
Also starring are:
John Thomson as a clown with anger management issues.
Amanda Holden as the ring mistress.
And Ruth Madoc as Lady with a dog.

National Doodle Day: 27th February, 2009

Tony has entered another doodle for the National Doodle Day ebay auction in 2009.

So how did a man who made his name as a stinking, turnip-loving simpleton crawling through the trenches in Blackadder, hit the big time grubbing around in the mud trying to locate an Anglo Saxon burial ground in Time Team, before achieving superstar status by rolling up his trousers to wade through urine in the Worst Jobs in History?

Packed full of hilarious tales, tender family stories and entertaining historical anecdotes championing the little guy, Tony Robinson's one man comedy show has sold out at venues throughout the UK. An uproarious, fast paced roller-coaster ride through the twists and turns of his life from the Artful Dodger to Baldrick and beyond.

Special Features include: a Q&A session with Tony including the 'Blackadder Question' and Any Old Iron?

A special behind-the-scenes feature with videos, pictures and a clip from the dvd itself is online here

Click on the image to see a bigger version.

Ancestry.co.uk

Family History and Tony

Tonys interest in history has, in the last few years, extended to family history research and he has made some fascinating discoveries in his own family tree such as pickle-making, piano-making and fancy box-making ancestors.

Tony is the spokesperson for Ancestry.co.uk and regularly speaks at the launch events including the English and Welsh Census Collection (1851), the British Phone Books and the British Army World War One Pension and Service Records in February this year.

Ancestry.co.uk, is the largest and most popular online resource for family and social history in the UK. It has more then 645 million searchable names in major collections including the seven England, Scotland and Wales Census Collections (1841-1901), the English and Welsh Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes (1837-2004), UK and Ireland Parish and Probate Records, the British Phone Books (1880-1984) and the British Army WW1 Pension Records. An annual membership to Ancestry.co.uk allows unlimited searches and viewing of all 645 million records for £79.95 a year.

You can register with Ancestry.co.uk and create your own family tree on our site for free plus add events, photos and stories and attach records youve purchased to individuals. You can even invite friends and relatives to view your tree, who you can allow to add their own photos and stories or just add comments to your tree.

Maid Marian DVD's - Series 1, 2, 3 & 4

The first Maid Marian DVD (Series 1) is now available and there are, of course, some rather spiffing extras on it and a brand new 8 page Paul Cemmick cartoon book. Click on the lower image to see a sample.